Hero German Shepherd saves six-year-old boy from being attacked by neighbour’s dog

The loyal modern-day Lassie has been labelled a hero after it saved its family’s six-year-old child from an neighbour’s aggressive dog.

Dramatic footage has emerged of a modern-day Lassie saving its owners’ six-year-old son from being attacked by a neighbour’s dog charging straight toward him.

Videos viewed nearly 45 million times on TikTok show a German shepherd named Tank initially playing with his young pal in front of their Florida home, the New York Post reports.

Suddenly, a dark dog races toward them from the top right of the screen — with Tank instantly snapping into defence mode.

As the charging would-be attacker nears, Tank moves the boy out of the way and confronts the other dog.

The young child and Tank were initially happily playing together. Picture: TikTok.

Tank snapped into alert mode after a neighbour’s dog came racing towards them. Picture: TikTok.

Tank made sure the would-be attacker didn’t harm the boy. Picture: TikTok.

Tank snaps at the aggressive animal, and follows him until he is at a safe distance — even turning back to make sure the young boy he saved is out of harm’s way.

“THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND,” she wrote, quipping that the playful footage showed a “highly skilled professional home security officer.”

“This is Tank and no, he is not professionally trained. He’s just a man with killer instincts, who loves a good chew toy,” she wrote.

Tank’s owner posted footage of him in his usual state, playing with toys. Picture: TikTok.

Her other dog was a superhero’s sidekick, the boy’s mum said. Picture: TikTok.

She then shared footage of her other dog who also charged in to help, saying that “every superhero needs a sidekick.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been republished with permission